Nightly Fears
by eliphya
Summary: It's evening and the pregnant Hinata feels a sudden pain in her stomach. [NaruHina l OS]


The noise of something breaking interrupted the calm evening. Naruto looked up from the scroll in his lab and got his feet off the coffee table.

"Hinata, is everything okay?" he voiced as he turned his head towards the kitchen, knowing that his limited view prevented him from seeing her. Still his eyes fixated the entrance as if she could appear any second. But there was no response.

"Hinata?" He stood up and walked around the sofa, a weird feeling already emerging in his stomach.

He found his wife huddled on the kitchen floor, next to a broken glass, the water it had contained spilled on her pants. Quiet moaning hissed between her trembling lips.  
He awakened from his immobility and hastily kneed down, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Hinata! Whats wrong?" As if she hadn't noticed his appearance, she lowered her head even further. He could feel how she shivered terribly under his hands, her breathing was heavy and unsteady.

Naruto was in panic. The loud thumbing of his heart pounded in his ears and Hinata's agonized groaning made his knees weak, so that he was at the stake of falling over.

"Tell me what's wrong? Are you in pain?" he asked, silently doubting if she would reply but clueless of what else to do.

"It hurts…," Hinata whispered between breaths, still hiding her face under her bangs. "It hurts a lot." Her voice quivered. Naruto finally noted how she had her arms wrapped around her stomach, while she clawed her fingers into the fabric of her clothing.

"The baby?" He could have punched himself for his stupidity of not recognizing the obvious earlier. Hinata nodded suppressing the sobs that built up in her throat.

"I'll be right back." Naruto rushed out of the kitchen to get a jacket, which he laid over her shoulders. It seemed like his brain and body weren't one anymore. His limbs moved by themselves unaffected by his muddled and hazy mind.

His feet shoved the broken pieces of glass away from his wife, not wanting to risk causing her any more pain, as he got down to lift her up.

"Try to endure it a little, okay?" He knew words wouldn't ease her ache but somehow he wanted to reassure her that he was there. She didn't show any sign of comprehension towards his words. Her clenched fist had grabbed his shirt and she buried her face in it, one arm still enveloped the hardly noticeable bump of her stomach. Naruto was already able to sense the wetness of her face through his shirt.

The hurried way to the hospital was a complete blur, as he wasn't able to see anything else than the building of the hospital afar and hear anything else than Hinata's whimpering pricking him like thousands of needles. No matter how fast he hasted from one rooftop to another, it didn't feel fast enough since every little moan from his wife was another thrust in his gut.  
The clear head of a ninja had left him wholly. Right now he was just a husband worried for his wife and unborn child.

"What happened?" Inside the hospital Sakura had appeared from scratch but Naruto obviously didn't have any time to spare questioning his friend's quick action.

"I don't know. She was suddenly in pain," he stammered. "I don't know."  
The doctor helped him set Hinata on the ground again. Her green glowing hand travelled the pregnant woman's abdomen before she wrapped an arm around her an guided her towards one of the many hallways.

"What's wrong with her?" Naruto followed them, his voice mirroring every trace of nervousness and fear he had inside. "Is she going to be okay?" He was scared of the possible but unwanted answers to his questions.

"You stay here," Sakura assigned sounding so stern that Naruto halted briefly in his walking.

"But-" "Stay."  
Their backs vanished behind the next corner and Naruto was left with his fists tightly squeezing Hinata's jacket, which had fallen from her shoulders.

* * *

He had been walking up and down, since he couldn't stop the nervous shaking of his leg and the feeling of his airflow getting corded up. The passing minutes felt like hours and he was on the verge of storming one room after another. Patiently waiting just wasn't his thing.  
Every now and then he glanced into the hallway Sakura had walked away with his wife until his sight was presented with their reappearance. Naruto approached them. The arm, Sakura still had around the woman, and the fact that Hinata's glimpse was lowered to the ground slowed down his pace.

"Is she okay?" he asked hesitantly. "Is the baby okay?" Naruto searched Sakura's face for any indications of an answer. The bending of her lips reduced some of the weight on his shoulders.

"Don't worry. Hinata and the baby are fine."

"That's a relief." He sighed loudly and could immediately feel the lightness of his heart. His senses became clear again.

"The abdominal pain was caused by stress," Sakura proceeded. "She should rest for a few day and take it easy during the pregnancy." Naruto nodded and diverted towards Hinata, who finally locked her eyes with his. Her face was still paler than usual and a few strands of her hair sticked to her temple.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan." The doctor shook her head and smiled in an assuring manner before she gave Hinata a squeeze and left the couple by themselves.

"Let's go." Naruto led Hinata towards the exit.

The chilling air outside reminded them of the coldness of the night. Naruto was quick to help Hinata into her jacket.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hm." He fumbled with the sleeve of her clothing.

"Could we walk home?"

"But it's cold and you heard what Sakura-chan said." Naruto knitted his eyebrows together. He had already planned to carry her home as quickly as might be and tuck her into bed.

"I know. But I think I would feel better after I stretched by legs a little bit," she replied. Naruto wavered. Hinata's glazed and tired eyes and the weakness in her voice, didn't help in convincing him.

"Fine," he indulged and zipped up her jacket until it covered her mouth. "But you have to tell me immediately when you feel unwell." Hinata nodded as he adjusted the clothing around her neck to make sure her skin wasn't exposed to the cold air.  
Then he grabbed her hand. "Let's go home." He intertwined his fingers with hers and slipped their hands into his jacket pocket.

They proceeded their walk home in silence and, to Naruto's astonishment, the cool wind breeze felt comfortable.  
His fingers lightly stroked Hinata's in his pocket and he drew in a deep breath. He had thought about so many scenarios in that time he had waited for her and the relief he felt that he could walk home with her like this was immeasurable.  
He watched her calm expression from the corner of his eye and tightened his grip.

"You scared the hell outta me." Her reaction was delayed since she had awoken her from her thoughts. She slowly looked up at him as if she wanted to make sure that the words she had heard weren't imagined. "Don't ever do that again." She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth but closed it again without uttering a reply.

"I'm sorry." Naruto sighed after watching her reaction. "I know it's not your fault. It's just… Please be careful." Her eyes widened questioningly.

"I read all this stuff about pregnancies and I never knew it was so dangerous. A-rank missions are nothing compared to that," he spoke tranquilly, his eyes fixed on one point in the distance. "It's dangerous but there is no way I can make it safer for you and that bothers me. Somehow I feel pitiful." Hinata's gaze softened. She hadn't expected him housing that kind of thoughts and she felt bad for not noticing earlier.

Another period of silence lingered in the air with just the pavement resounding when it met with their soles before Naruto cut it off again.  
"I don't know what I would do without you." His words took her breath away as she sensed a certain sadness in his voice. She wanted to break him off and give him encouragement instead but she wasn't sure of what to say. "I don't want to be alone again." Even if it was nearly just a whisper, it caused pain in Hinata's heart and she stood still. He stopped instantly because of her steady hold of him.

They locked their eyes for a few moments, Hinata tried to think of the best thing to say. The troubled expression on her face made Naruto feel guilty. He hadn't intended her to feel bad. He had always been the type of person who talked before he thought about it. This was one of the time, he regretted that trait of himself.  
Before he could continue, Hinata took her chance to speak.

"It's a boy." That small sentence passed through his ears and left the impact of stirring up his emotions again.

"What?" he whispered, rather resembling a puff of breath. An implied smile played around the corners of Hinata's mouth.

"Sakura-chan accidentally told me when we went through the test results," she explained, her tender glance locking with his and her lips resulting in a wide smile. "We are going to have a son."

"A son," he repeated, his surprise still written on his face. He blinked. "A son." Hinata nodded excessively.

When he came back to his senses again he pulled her into a hug. "A son."  
Before she could even place her hands on his back, he drew away from her and kissed her. She leaned into the kiss and raised herself on tiptoes to be closer to him, letting out a pleasant sigh.  
He cupped her face and distanced his lips from hers again. He brushed her hair behind her ears and gently squeezed her skin under his spread fingers.

"Thank you." A smile eventually sneaked on his face and Hinata returned it.  
He embraced her again, this time pressing her so firmly, she was sure he wouldn't let go anytime soon. She listened to his heartbeat, steadily throbbing against the ear she had laid on his chest. It was comforting.  
He rested his head on hers and breathed in her scent. That scent he could recognize anywhere and made him think of home. He loved her so much.  
He loved his wife. And he loved his son.

* * *

Reviews are really appreciated~


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